Chasing the Wind
by electraray
Summary: An AU fic, takes place in ff7 world, with lotsa changes... read it and you'll see.
1. Default Chapter

The Three Stooges 

The sky was filled with leaden dark grey clouds, hanging low in the sky, looking ready to unleash its burden upon the already adequately watered land filled with bright green vegetation. Tifa looked up at it with a slight smile on her pretty face and quickly set up her art gear, getting ready to paint the moment when the rain would start pelting down.

She mixed several drab colours on her palette, and dipped the tip of the brush into the blob, swirling it gently, watching it turn into a slightly lighter grey. Looking up at the sky again, she closed her eyes, feeling the increasing velocity of the wind that was blowing where she stood, under the huge concrete expressway of Kalm city. 

There was a river flowing gently just beside where she stood, and her stuff are strewn all over on the bank, under the shelter of the bridge. As the thunder rumbled deeply, the clouds finally decided to fall.

She was halfway through what would be her art assignment for a paper her art teacher had set when the distant sound of a bicycle bell could be heard ringing. Tifa turned to the direction where she heard the sound and wasn't surprised to see a dark blonde clad in a pink nylon rain jacket cycling to her at breakneck speed.

The girl's jacket was open, the sides flapping about her like wings; her hair, most of which was inside the hood of the jacket, had a few strands whipping about in her face. It was Tifa's childhood friend, Aeris, coming to see her in the middle of a rainstorm for god knows what.

Aeris threw down her bicycle by the side, straightened herself and shook off water droplets dotting her favourite jacket. "Hey! Where the hell were you? I've been looking around for you for ages!" she pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The brunette gave a mock sigh, shrugging. "Didn't I already tell you? I had a paper to complete. If I don't finish this, I'm a goner… I'm depending on this for a pass in Art, ok?" she huffed.

"Oh. Well, you see, me and Cloud, we're deciding on hitting the arcade later, since it's raining and all. Wanted to ask you if you'd like to come along? We never go anywhere without each other, you know that." Aeris said.

"Thanks for asking. I'll join you guys later." Tifa winked, and got back down to business. She did a few strokes with the brush before she was interrupted again.

"Uh, I brought this for you. Take care, don't catch a cold. I'll see ya when I see ya. Toodles." The emerald eyed girl put a bag down beside Tifa, hopping onto her bike before speeding off again into the rain.

Tifa raised her eyebrows in question and examined the contents of the bag. It was a lavender sweater,  her last gift from her mother. Smiling gratefully, she put it on, and continued her painting, warm feelings engulfing her entire being.

The door to the Kalm National University opened with a bang, revealing a sopping wet girl running in, looking around for her friend. Upon seeing a spiky headed fellow with bright yellow hair sitting in the corner by himself with his back facing her, head down looking at something, she grinned cheekily, coming from behind him in small steps, stretching her arms out as if she was going to give him a good fright.

Aeris got the fright of her life instead when Cloud suddenly whirled around, his face distorted, a clump of pink flesh tainted with blood hanging down at the side of his face, an eye popping out of one of its sockets, and an ugly scar that ran from his forehead down to his chin, splitting everything else, namely the nose, and lips into a gruesome half. She shrieked, eyes wide with terror and disgust, before the face was taken a way with Cloud's hand. It was a friggin' mask.

"Haha, Aeris. Right back at cha!" Cloud smirked, sticking out his tongue at her playfully. Looking at Aeris who was still staring at him in shock, he doubled up in laughter. "*rawr*… heh heh. Got you there, didn't I? Hey. Aeris? Aeris. Are you ok?" his jolly expression turned to one of worry, as he waved a hand in front of her face.

Coming out of her trance, she frowned angrily at him. "You scared me half to death with that stupid face, you idiot." Looking at the mask which was sitting at the table, her lips curled in revulsion. She flinged it away before taking a seat beside him, looking over at what he was doing. 'Ah,' she thought, 'finally. I thought I'd never see him study for his finals.' Aeris picked up his philosophy book, grunting at its weight, and leafed through it casually.

"Finally deciding to pass your first year and go on to the second, huh." She grinned, voicing out her thoughts.

Cloud immediately took on the defensive. "Who wouldn't?" he snatched his book back from her, and looked around. "Uh. I thought you went to get Tif."

"yeah. She was trying to pass her finals as well." Aeris smiled lopsidedly. "So, are we still heading for the arcade?"

"Of course. I'm bored stiff sitting here. Did she bring her phone?" packing his books, he stood up, ready to go. "I'm gonna message her. We'll meet her at Taka."

Taka was short for Takashimaya, a huge complex built by the Shinra, which was a company that had brought many technological advances and a higher standard of living to everyone worldwide. Many young people hang out there, as Kalm is not a very big city and well, Takashimaya was the 'hottest' shopping arcade around. It had virtually everything, clothes, shoes, supermarkets, you name it, it has it.

It was an elegant compound, Taka was. Laid with the finest marble and glass, inside and out, it looked artistic, yet grand. the place had a wide open area where open air concerts and events are held periodically, and an outdoor pool, built like those in resorts, complete with slides and man made waves on the fifth floor. The landscaping was done to suit the climate of Kalm, which had only two seasons, spring and winter. Luckily, three quarters of the year is spring and only the last few months of it is winter. Usually, the transition of spring to winter is brought about by bouts of rain, where the weather gets cooler and cooler, before it starts snowing, officiating the arrival of winter, both Cloud and Tifa's favourite season.

So, the duo (Cloud and Aeris) put on a sweater on their tops before heading out to the shopping arcade. They had taken their stuff from Tifa's dormitory room, a few blocks from the cafeteria. The university was the second largest compound, after Taka. There is an internal bus transport system within the university itself, but to save money, most students own bicycles there, some people skate their way through university too.

Within 20 minutes, they had reached Taka. Aeris secured her bike to one of the stands, while Cloud secured his T-board at the station by the side of the shopping complex, keeping his ticket in his jeans pocket, his jeans hanging low on his hip, looking ready to drop any moment.

Aeris tugged lightly on it, giggling. "How many days haven't you washed your pants? They look as if they're gonna fall of any moment." She joked, tugging at the sides harder.

Cloud slapped her hands away playfully, and whispered teasingly into her ear, "Wouldn't you like to see what's under those jeans." He grinned widely at her, enjoying making her embarrassed. Aeris reddened a little, and elbowed him in the gut. "Ow…" She heard him say before walking on ahead, smiling to herself.

Just then, the back pocket of Cloud's jeans vibrated strongly, and his mobile phone started ringing to the tune of the chocobo theme. Aeris looked at him in mock horror while Cloud blushed lightly, embarrassed to say the least. 'Tifa had been playing around with my ring tones again.' He mused to himself, whipping out his cell phone, and answering it in one smooth motion.

"Yep. Cloud speaking." He listened a while, before nodding, mouthing 'Tifa' to Aeris, who was standing at his side looking on curiously. "Yeah, we're at Taka. Want us to wait for you at the entrance?" he nodded again, "ok then. Bye." Hitting a button on his phone, he slipped it back into his jeans. 

"So?" Aeris prodded, brushing a few strands of wayward hair from her face to the back of her ears.

"She told us to go on ahead and play by ourselves… she sounds troubled." Cloud creased his eyebrows.

Aeris looked down thoughtfully as well, before snapping her head up again and asking, "what's the date today?"

With a flick of his wrist, he replied, "October 9th… Oh!" both of them looked at each other in realisation.

"Her mom's anniversary. Let's go!" Aeris said it for both of them, sprinting back to her bike waiting for Cloud to get his board before speeding down to Kalm cemetery.

Author's Note: Hiya. How's the story so far? Confusing? I hope not. This is an alternate universe fic, if u haven't already noticed. Uh… ok. Maybe not alternate universe, but just something different. You're probably wondering why the hell Kalm only has two seasons, well, the reason's coz… I like it! Heh heh. So there. 

The three of them are childhood frens, and I'm not gonna spoil anything by telling you who's going with who in the end. It's up to me to decide, and I'm pretty sure I got the idea floating around in my head somewhere already. Well, I'm open to comments and such, and you can post me your ideas if you want. Thank you.


	2. chap 2

Chapter 2

Tifa stood in a field located at the outskirts of Kalm city, a deserted area visited only by people coming with flowers to pay their respects to their loved ones who had already passed on. So here she was, her hair tied up in a pony tail, clutching at a bouquet of white lilies, her mom's favourite flower.

She knelt in front of the stone which was carved with a simple design, similar to most stones found there. The girl of 18 placed her hand on the marble, tracing her mother's name. Dominique Lockheart. The woman had died at the age of 27, Tifa being her second child after her first whom she had lost to a car accident. Mrs Lockheart breathed her last after giving life to Tifa, leaving the infant to the care of her grandmother. Tifa never knew her father, as her mother had left him because of his one track mind on his career and not of family.

Her grandmother had never spoken about her father, no matter how much Tifa persuaded the stubborn woman. She never even knew his name. Every time Tifa mentioned him when she was a lot younger, her grandma would throw herself into a fit, shouting at Tifa and screaming her lungs out to never talk about him again. At the tender age of 6, she learnt her lesson well and good when her grandmother had suffered from a stroke from being too aggravated. She had only remembered vaguely sitting beside her grandma rocking back and forth at a loss of what to do until one of her friends had dropped by to visit, and was shocked senseless by the display. She remembered the situation vaguely, something about sitting in the ambulance, hearing the wail of the siren as it drove to the hospital and worried voices directed at her, asking her if she was ok.

They were living in Nibelheim (which happens to be a farming land) at that time when the incident happened. Tifa was born in Kalm, which was also her mom's final resting place, but because her grandmother had thought that a change of lifestyle would be good for her, she had brought baby Tifa to Nibelheim where she brought Tifa up amongst well-to-do people namely 'ladies' who wore pretty dresses and goes to tea every afternoon, playing cards and eating their scones.

After the demise of her grandmother however, nobody had wanted to take care of Tifa, so she had to be sent back to Kalm, where she was put into the care of foster parents. But it was never meant to be, as both her foster parents died in a plane crash to Rocket Town. Thinking that she was a jinx to everyone's lives she had touched, she became a depressed and reclusive child, opting to stay on the streets and to beg and steal for a living rather than to put herself up in some home.

That was when she had met Cloud and Aeris at the age of 12. They were her angels, sort of. Learning to live on the streets by pick pocketing, Tifa was just walking down the bustling streets, spying on her prey and ready to attack when the two had grabbed both her hands and looked at her with stern expressions.

Tifa had acted nonchalant at being caught, and wore a bored expression on her face, while the two dragged her to a nearby alley and started questioning her.

"My my… what do we have here. Two pseudo cops trying to save the day?" Tifa mocked, leaning against the cold hard concrete wall of a run down 5 storey abandoned office building.

Cloud had taken a deep breath as if to steady himself, and gone off like a machine gun, "You'reonlya12yearoldwhyareyoudoingthisyou'druinyourwholefutureifyougetcaughtcauseyoullhaverecordsinthepolicedatabaseandtheyllchaseyoudowntotheendsoftheearth!"

Tifa turned around to look at Aeris, who was looking at her with her small mouth hanging open in shock. The both of them turned back to Cloud, and burst out in giggles. That was their start of a friendship that ran so deep that gave Tifa the faith to continue living, that somebody out there cares after all.

****

Cloud and Aeris had spotted her the moment they reached the vicinity of the area, a lone figure in the field of green and dots of grey, dressed in indigo fitting jeans a fire engine red jacket. Her hood wasn't up, and her hair was pretty much soaking wet. As they neared, they could see her back pack laying at the side, her painting lying safe in a waterproof file propped up against the tombstone. White lilies laid neatly by the front, looking fresh and pristine compared to its surroundings, sodden and dull.

Not wanting to break the silence, Cloud and Aeris stepped closer cautiously, each with bunches of flowers of their own. Cloud had bought roses, while Aeris tulips. Cloud frowned at Tifa, whose face was dripping with rain water. Shouldn't she know better? Opening his mouth to speak, he was rudely interrupted by Aeris who kicked him in the shins, looking at him sternly, a sign to keep him quiet. Gently, quietly, they bent down at the knees beside Tifa, who was also kneeling down, her eyes closed, fingers on the smooth polished marble of the tombstone. Her eyelids opened gradually, revealing orbs of liquid brown hooded by long and thick lashes. "Tifa…" Cloud began his warning.

"Shh… Close your eyes. Feel. Can you feel her? She's here…" Tifa whispered, her lips breaking into a serene smile, closing her eyelids again, her face angled towards the sky.

Aeris followed suit, out of respect for her friend. Cloud watched on, rendered speechless by the spiritual effect in the atmosphere that Tifa had unknowingly created. Slowly, Cloud felt his eyelids close, and tried to feel what Tifa was feeling. He thought he had sensed something, something intangible, fleeting, definitely a presence, and it was casting a warm glow on all of them. 

They stood there for several moments, eyes closed, bathing in the light that was bestowed upon them. The rain was letting up,  reduced to a mere drizzle. Aeris finally broke the silence with the rumbling of her stomach. Cloud looked at her from the corner of his eye and locked gazes with her, trying hard not to laugh. Tifa smiled apologetically and mumbled, "Oops, I guess I took up too much of your time again, huh."

She stood up unsteadily and before she could stumble, Cloud was instantly right beside her, holding her arm to keep her steady. He looked at her, worry etched plainly across his face. "You ok?" Tifa nodded absently, but Cloud knew better. He placed a cool hand on her forehead, shaking his head at the heat he felt. She bit her lip again, which was now pale and bloodless. In fact, her whole face was nearly as white as the bunch of lilies lying on the ground.

Aeris came forward and looked at her anxiously. "What happened?"

"She's running a fever. Probably from standing in this rain the whole day. Damn Tif, you should know better." Cloud chastised, scooping her up into his arms, walking back towards his T-board, while Tifa lay motionless, half conscious. "C'mon Aeris. I'm bringing her back to the dorms." With that, he shifted Tifa onto his back and rode off towards the university.

A fever to any normal person was nothing, but to Tifa, it may mean more than just a few days in bed. Cloud had learnt of her condition a while back, that Tifa had a genetic disorder and therefore had a weak immune system, compared to other people her age. The disorder had shown when she had hit the age of puberty, in her case, age 13. It started out harmlessly enough with wrecking coughs, and frequent cases of the flu, but worsened when her body stopped producing antibodies. She had spent less time with Cloud and Aeris on the field, but more in bed, twisting and turning in discomfort.

There was one time she was so sick that she stayed in the hospital for almost half a year, laying in bed with a drip stuck in her arm, looking as white as the bed sheets she was laying in. Aeris had came to visit her every single day, bringing in her favourite mangas and magazines, keeping her company right after school till the sky turned dark. Even then, the nurse on duty had to chase her home. Cloud was there too, at every step of the way, cheering her on with his lame jokes and funny antics. The doctor had gave her injections, and taught her how to administrate them on herself. Tifa suffered, and as a result, lost almost half of her weight. She had become a ghost of what she was before all these happened. She was once a very bubbly girl, active and sporty, always running around with her T-board, playing basketball with girls and boys her age, and winning them hands down.

But now…

Cloud kept vigil by her side, sitting on a chair beside her bed, clasping her hand with his own, staring at her face, which seemed almost peaceful. He reached out tentatively, tracing the outline of her face with a light feathery touch, afraid that he might wake her. He leaned back into his chair, and gave a sigh. It had almost been two hours since he had sent her back to the dorms, and she still hadn't gained consciousness. He chuckled to himself sensing the irony of the situation?: one moment he was afraid to touch her in case she woke up, the next he was wondering when the hell she would open her eyes. Closing his own, he tried to calm the raging storm inside his head, ignoring those that bordered on pessimism in irritation. He was sick of having Tifa fight for her life every time she got ill, and sick of feeling helpless as Aeris and him watch Tifa fade away, physically and spiritually, bit by bit everyday.

The door to Tifa's dorm room opened, as Aeris stepped in gingerly, holding a syringe in her hand. She smiled at Cloud weakly, and held the syringe higher, indicating the time for her jab. She walked over to Tifa calmly, face carefully emptied of emotion. As her hands which were holding onto the syringe neared her forearm, they began to shake involuntarily. Cloud was watching her movements with detached interest up to the point where her hands started trembling, and lifted his gaze to her face.

Aeris was struggling with her emotions, it seemed, trying not to cry but the scrunching up of her delicate features proved otherwise. Her tears finally gave way, streaming down her face in little rivulets of transparent liquid, leaving shiny trails in their wake. She looked up with her tear-filled eyes as bigger hands enclosed around her smaller ones, and mouthed a 'thank you' as she passed the needle gratefully to Cloud, who nodded understandingly.

The injection lasted only a few moments, but the feel of needle piercing through Tifa's flesh gave him yet another hopeless feeling. He fingered scars on her arm left by numerous needle markings, lost in thought before shaking himself out of it mentally, tapping her arm gently and placing it back under the velvety comforter.

"You gonna stay here long?" Aeris asked, her tears subsiding, and took a seat by Tifa's study table. "It's late, and you've got a paper tomorrow. Why don't you go back to your dorm? I'll stay here with her."

Cloud nodded, and started for the door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. G'night." He smiled, and after giving Tifa another glance, he was gone.

***

 The morning light shone through the window pane by the side of Tifa's worktable, falling on Aeris' closed eyes. She twitched a little before opening her eyes slowly, using her arm to block the sun's rays from piercing into her jade green eyes. Stretching her aching back, and giving a little moan as the lower part of her vertebrae gave a few pops, she yawned loudly, before remembering where she was. She turned around to look at her charge, who was still sound asleep.

Looking around for the thermometer she had used last night, she nudged open Tifa's mouth and placed the thermometer under her tongue before pushing her jaw close, and went to the bathroom. 

She sighed as she bent over the sink, turning it open and splashed her face with cupped hands. Rinsing her mouth, she took a toothbrush from the cup on the counter and drew a line of toothpaste across the bristles, stuffing it into her mouth and started her daily routine. After she was done, she contemplated taking a shower when a crash was heard.

Aeris rushed out immediately, to see Tifa crouching by her dresser, picking up pieces of glass with her bare hands.

"Oh my gawd. Tifa! What do you think you're doing?" Aeris exclaimed, helping Tifa back to her bed.

"I was just trying to get some water, Aeris. Stop being such a nag." Tifa rasped. "As you can tell, my throat's really dry." She coughed a few times, rubbing her eyes. "I'm fine now. Why don't you go back to your room to rest?" she pushed Aeris' arm away, and tried to stand. Upon being successful, she gave a triumphant smile. "There. I can stand by myself. See?" she took a few experimental steps. "Ha! I can walk too. I'm fine, really. Now, go. Go, go, go." Tifa pushed Aeris, who was still trying to speak out of her room, and closed the door behind her. She slumped against the door as it slammed close, drawing her knees to herself, and broke down in racking sobs.

***

"Ok… I'll see you about this later?" Cloud asked, walking down the hallway of one of the buildings in the compound, talking to an elfish girl striding beside him, donned in a stylish red tube and a tight black skirt which reached to the middle of her thighs, and leggings. Knee high boots clicked noisily against the tiled floor, as she tried to keep up with Cloud's pace. She hugged her books to her chest, and smiled easily at him.

"No prob. Just call me when you're ready." The girl named Nicole winked cutely at Cloud, before walking towards her next lecture. They were supposed to work on a new assignment together, a paper just given by their professor right after their test. Looking at his watch, which read 12 noon, he decided to drop by the cafeteria to get some food.

Getting out of the building specialised for the teaching of the arts and social sciences, he crossed the road on his board, heading towards the cafeteria in the Medical Sciences building, which was a few minutes away, and just beside Tifa's dorm. He thought of popping by to see how she was doing. Knowing her though, she would probably flare up at him for being overly concerned, she just "didn't need the attention", a phrase she would every so often belt out when either Cloud or Aeris would get overly worried about her well-being.

The sun was really shining today, he mused, quite unusual since winter was supposed to be nearing, in about a weeks time. It was still pretty cold out though, and luckily for him, he was in his baggy blue sweater which says 'Blame my parents' at the back of it.

Jumping up the short flight of steps on his trusty board leading to the famous cafeteria in the university, he skidded to a stop and placed it at the T-board stop situated just outside the entrance of the orange and blue building with bright yellow "MEDICAL SCIENCE" painted on one of the walls. 

The smell of steak and potatoes wafted through the glass doors as they swung open, making Cloud's mouth water. As if on response, his stomach started growling and he patted his stomach, as if calming down an angry pet.

He rushed to the counter where steak was served, and queued behind a string of people, tapping his foot impatiently against the ground. Shifting his weight to the other foot, he glanced around to see if Aeris, a medical student, was around. Spotting her in a light blue cashmere sweater and black leggings, he waved and called, asking her to come over.

"Hey. How's the paper?" Aeris greeted him with a friendly hug, followed by a punch in the shoulder.

Cloud grinned. "Piece of cake. I'm working on a thesis paper with Nicole now. Gotta meet her later in her dorm." He continued, stepping a space in line towards the food counter. "Had lunch yet? I'm getting a set. Want one?" 

"Uh, yes please." she answered.

"I think I should get a set for Tifa too. I'll get her something light, since she's sick and all."

Aeris looked down. "I don't think she wants to see anybody right now. She looked upset this morning." She said, fiddling with the chain she wore at the waist.

Cloud looked at her in confusion. Aeris sighed, and shook her head. "I think you should just stay away from here today. She's a little cranky."

"Ok…" he replied, paying lip service but his mind was already whirling in a tornado of random thoughts about Tifa's condition. He knew she was feeling down because she had brought so much trouble to himself and Aeris, and thought that she doesn't deserve such treatment. She had tried to break away from them several times, but they were too stubborn to let her go. Cloud made his mind up to go check up on Tifa right after lunch.

***

Tifa's room was in a mess, her comforter was strewn to a corner of the room, her books and papers laying scattered across the floor and table. She lay in darkness, covering her face with a pillow, trying to block the whole world out. The curtains that were drawn shut had blocked out any traces of light and tried to sneak into the gloomy room.

The only thing left untouched was the bottle of serum that was antibiotics and a syringe on her beside table, her 'elixir of life'. She couldn't last a week without it, and with the weather getting colder each day, the doctor in charge of her case had told her to up the dosage to twice daily, and that she mustn't ever miss a single dosage of it, or she might get pneumonia.

Her thoughts about getting pneumonia only made her mood worse, as she drowned herself in even darker thoughts. Why should she still be studying and getting a degree if living was such a pain? Why should she even care at all? Why do Aeris and Cloud even bother? Couldn't they see? It was useless being by her side. The doctors had said, the disorder would get worse each year, each day, her system weakening until it stops working, a slow deterioration of her body. There was a possibility that her condition would stop worsening, allowing her to escape from the clutches of Death, but what was the chance of that happening? A measly 5%. She couldn't live with that, the insecurity would just gnaw at her being, it seemed impossible…

Just then, there came a soft knock on the door, forcing Tifa out of her swim in a pool of self pity. Rolling over lazily, she stared hard at the door, muttering a "Who issit?"

"Cloud." Came the muffled reply.

Her face twisting in anger, Tifa threw a pillow at the door. "Go away. I don't wanna see anyone right now." Shuffling outside the door could be heard, followed by silence. Thinking that Cloud had left, she bit her lip, her mind taking on a guilt trip. But she couldn't be bothered to chase after Cloud, after all, isn't this what she wanted? Isolation? So she could just die in peace?

To her relief, however she would have denied it, the door knob turned and Cloud stepped in, frowning when he saw the state that her room was in. "I left you for a few hours and this is what you've done to your room?" he sighed, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Tifa turned so she was lying on her right side, away from Cloud, hugging the fluffy pillow over her head. "Go away."

Cloud sighed. It was going to be difficult. How many times had he gone through this with her already? Too many to count. Even then, she was still too stubborn to care. To see his and Aeris' love for her. Taking note of the bottle and needle at her bedside table, he spoke, "Why haven't you taken your medication?"

Silence.

He pursed his lips, standing with his arms crossed for a few moments, deciding on what to do with her. Knowing that she needed her medication, he stepped forward and grabbed the bottle. Plunging the needle in it, he drew out the colourless liquid, flicking the syringe to get rid of bubbles. Satisfied, he walked nearer Tifa, grabbed her arm, and stuck the needle into it. 

Tifa had been lying there as still as she could, and wondered what Cloud was up to. Not wanting to turn her head around, though, she thought she would wait a few minutes more before turning around. Before she knew it, her arm was pulled by a firm grip away from her, and a small prick of pain could be felt as the needle slid into her vein. Tifa tugged at her arm, but the hold on it was strong, unyielding. Tears started forming again at the corner of her eyes as she bent her head in embarrassment for acting like a baby that needed to be coddled.

"C'mon. You need some fresh air." Cloud said, pulling her out of her bed. To his surprise, she did not resist, but remained slack as she was dragged away from her bed. Her head hung low, uncombed hair hanging around her face and hiding it from view. 

They got out of the room, Cloud holding on to Tifa's hand as she followed him like a zombie, unseeing, unfeeling. Not so polite stares were thrown in their direction as they walked out along the corridor, and out of the building. Telling Tifa to stay put, Cloud went to get his T-board before he got on, motioning for her to follow suit. Securing her arms on his waist, he sped off, towards the beach.

AND CHAP 2 is done!!! Hip hip hooray! Hahaha.


	3. chap3

Chapter 3 

"Get your lab rat, everyone! You'll do your dissection in 20 minutes. Map out the organs and tissues, every single one of 'em, and pass it up at the end of this lab session. A 2000 word essay regarding the anatomy of the rat would be expected to go along with your drawings too, I might add. You may begin." A man of 60 said, returning to what he was doing with an intense look on his weathered face, marking their final term papers.

Aeris sighed long and hard. 'Not another stupid dissection lab session!' her mind was screaming. Standing up from her seat at the laboratory bench, she went to the front to get one live rat from the transparent glass container situated at the front by the teacher's workbench. As she looked around, she saw most students beginning to fill their syringes with anaesthesia, preparing to render the rat unconscious. 

Holding the squirming little thing in her hand, she sat back down at her table, taking her own sweet time. James, who was her lab partner, glanced over at her curiously, and asked her what was wrong. Aeris shook her head, giving a little awkward smile. "Nothing. Would you mind injecting the rat for me? I can't keep it still," she said, giving him the rat.

Taking the rat over, he gave her a charming grin, and got to business. Keeping her eyes focused on him, Aeris admired his profile as he knotted his eyebrows, searching for a spot to slide the needle in. James was a good friend of Tifa's; they were in the rock climbing society, Tifa being the secretary and James the president. He wasn't all bad looking, with shaggy chestnut brown hair that reached his eyes, which was a shade of brilliant blue. Dimples kissed both of his cheeks when he smiled, which was quite often. He had a way with girls, and just this year alone, he has had quite a number of suitors trying to get a date with him. 

Everyone knew that he liked Tifa, except Tifa herself. Aeris had wanted to tell her for James, but he didn't want her to, it might spoil their friendship, which ran quite deep, though nothing compared to what she shared with herself and Cloud. Like her illness, for example. 

"Here you go," the cute medical student handed the comatose rat back into Aeris' awaiting hand.

"Thanks, man. You're the best," Aeris said. She smiled as James rolled his eyes, and mounted the rat onto the cutting board. Taking a deep breath, she held the scissors in her right hand, and willed herself not to tremble as she pinched the skin on the rat's stomach feeling the warmth of the rat before snipping open the skin and guided the scissors upwards.

***

"Where are we going?" Tifa asked, still grabbing on tightly onto Cloud's slim waist. Cloud didn't answer, just continued gliding, riding on the current of air under his T-board. Feeling exhausted, she leaned more fully against Cloud, and pressed her face against his back. 

Feeling the sudden shift of weight, Cloud stiffened, and looked around for a place then he could stop and rest. As they were nearing the seaside, there was a concrete pathway by the side of the ocean, lined with classy railings and polished wooden benches. He stopped by one of the empty seats, and guided Tifa onto the bench. 

Silence reigned for a few moments before it was broken. "You know, I could have just ran away a long time ago." She looked at him seriously, her eyes shining brightly with indignation.

"But you didn't." he stared back.

"Yeah well. That's 'cos I wasn't brave enough. But I'll show you, someday. Today. Maybe tomorrow. You can't take care of me forever, you know."

"Doesn't matter. As long as you're here, I'll take care of you, always." He spoke earnestly, not breaking eye contact with her. "You know I – we, care for you a lot. We won't let you go without a fight," he sat down beside her, looking down, fiddling with his thumbs. "There are loads of people who know you, and care about you. What would they say if you just ran away?"

Tifa snorted. Why was he making things so complicated for her? She wasn't a very popular girl; she had always kept to herself and her closest friends, not daring to widen her social circle just in case she would one day just disappear from their eyes, the pain she would bring upon them. It was not worth it. She was not worth it. Sighing again, this time in frustration, she leaned back, bringing her hands to her hair and clutched it fiercely. 

"I don't want to think about this anymore. I don't want to worry for nothing. I want out," she pleaded. "It's too much for me, I-I-"

Cloud grabbed her hands, which was tugging helplessly at her silky strands of chocolate brown hair. "No, _you_ listen to me. You've worked so hard to get into university, and I'm not gonna let you throw your dreams of being a fashion designer away, ok?" now he was holding on to her shoulders in a tight grip and shaking her lightly as if it would emphasise his point. He let out a breath, and leaned his forehead against hers. "Don't give up," he whispered. "Please."

Tifa bit her lip, trying to hold back a sob. It hardened her resolve to get away from them even more. A tear had started trickling down her cheek, and hung at the base of her chin in a crystalline drop. As it fell to the ground with a miniscule splash, the sky overhead rumbled, and as if sensing their mood, it too began to weep.

***

"How's your rat coming along?" James peeked over Aeris' shoulder, to see a mutilated rat on her workbench. He frowned. "What on earth did you do to that poor thing?"

Flushing, she gave him a sheepish grin. "Heh heh. I, uh, accidentally cut one of its major arteries, can't see a damn thing," she told him, shrugging helplessly. "Can I just copy yours?"

James laughed. "Sure thing, ma'am. Go right ahead, I'm done with it pretty long ago anyway. Now, onto my 2000 word essay." He made a face, taking out the laptop from his bag. Setting up the cables, he left Aeris on her own, staring blankly at the intestines that have been dug out and placed on the side.

Just as she was about to sketch the outline of the rat, a scream resonated through the lab. Everyone whirled around to see who it was, and to nobody's surprise, it was Jean, being pranked on by her lab partner, Greg, again. Intestines were hanging on her hair, a splatters of blood can be seen on her lab coat, which all of them were supposed to wear during the sessions. 

She had a shocked expression on her face, her mouth open in horror, staring at Greg with absolute distaste. "You… you asshole! Why'd you do that for?" she yelled, going forward to throttle him with her gloved hands.

Greg, a boy with short spiky blond hair and green eyes held up both of his hands in an attempt to ward her off. "Don't come near me! The intestines just flew off while I was trying to pull it away from its body, really!" he backed away slowly, inching towards Aeris and James.

Hearing the commotion, the professor thumped on his desk loudly, shaking his head exasperatedly. "What, can't I leave you university students alone for a few periods to do something? Honestly, you do remind me of high school kids prancing around with head filled with air on their shoulders! Please, Mr Grey and Ms Adams, kindly return to your seats and SHUT THE HELL UP!" the professor boomed.

The noise subsided to hushed whispers, and Jean gingerly picked the intestines off her hair with a pair of tongs, and excused herself to the bathroom. Greg was smiling widely to himself, and was berated by Aeris.

"The hell were you doing?" Aeris hissed, pointing the bloody scalpel at his face.

Greg just kept grinning. "I like it when she's mad," he picked up his rat and dumped it into the bag provided for their rubbish, and took his surgical gloves off carefully as not to touch the exterior part of the glove. Winking at Jean who was still fuming as she stomped back to her seat, he turned his head back to Aeris who was looking at him in sudden realisation.

"I see…" Aeris smiled knowingly.

Greg looked at Aeris warningly. "You see what?" he asked, daring her to say it.

Aeris shrunk away, grinning. She would not give away his secret… for now. Jean looked on suspiciously, her red tinted blond hair glinting under the lights of the room. Green eyes still on Greg, she took her own rat and threw it on Greg's neck. To everyone's surprise, Greg squealed, and jumped out of his chair, hands brushing his neck furiously, and looked at Jean with a certain expression in his eyes. 

Jean gave him a superior smirk, and turned back to her laptop. James nudged Aeris, who was staring open-mouthed at Jean. "Stop staring, you've got work to do," he told her. She stuck her tongue out at him, and continued with her sketch.

***

"Yo Tif!" a male voice called out down the hallway where all the lockers were, lined against the wall, painted in different colours. 

Tifa was standing by her locker, trying to find the thick Biology book amongst the junk that was thrown haphazardly inside and looked up at the smiling James who was striding towards her. "Hi. What's up?"

"Mmm, nothing much. We're gonna climb the wall today. Are you coming?" he asked, leaning against the locker beside hers, looking at her intently.

"I guess so. There's nothing much to do today anyway," she grabbed the hefty book with both hands, giving a blithe grin. "I'll see you later," she waved, and continued her way among the sea of students towards the library.

James looked at her go wistfully. He checked his watch, which read 1530hrs. Hmm… there was still some time before their meeting, so he might as well follow her up to the library, and do some studying as well. Ok, maybe that wasn't his real intention, but who cares? He grinned. "Tifa! Wait up!" he called jogging after her.

As they neared the library, Tifa looked up at him for the umpteenth time. She cocked her eyebrow at him, and asked, "You _sure_ you want to study? With me?" she added with a sceptical expression.

"Hell, yeah." James answered, giving another easy smile. "C'mon Tif. The finals _are_ here and if I don't study, how am I supposed to pass?"

"Ok… just that you never had to study I guess." Tifa gave a chuckle. Turning her back towards the glass door, she pushed it open with her bum and stepped in quickly, James following after her.

Walking towards her usual study area, tucked away in the deepest corner of the library where no one usually goes, she set her books down with a rather loud thump. James looked around nervously. "Won't the librarian come after you for doing that?"

"Nah," she waved the comment off with a flex of the wrist, "The library is too big for a sound like this to travel so far. Although it would be nice to irritate her once in a while," Tifa winked.

James couldn't argue with that. The librarian was a pain in the ass, and had irritated the hell out of him the few times he had came in here. He made himself comfortable on the chair opposite Tifa, and settled down, opening his chemistry book with a bored sigh.

Noticing his lack of enthusiasm for studying, she told him, "I didn't force you to come here," her voice teasing.

James gave a grunt. "I will study, I must study." He repeated the phrase like a mantra. Tifa looked bemusedly at him, and decided to leave him alone. Flipping her biology book open, she started taking notes with her pen, scribbling furiously at her notebook.

The air was quiet, broken only by sounds of scribbling and the ruffling of pages. After an hour or so, James couldn't really stand the silence anymore, and glanced up at Tifa.

She was biting her lip in concentration, her eyes running through the lines of the text while her hands moving continuously to and fro along the width of her notepad. Her long brown hair was hanging down her face, causing her to use her other hand to tuck it behind her ear. James looked on in mute fascination, his eyes lingering on her eyelashes, then nose, then her pink glossy lips.

Tifa raised her head suddenly, and snapped James out of his trance. She scratched her head apologetically, as if her bringing him here was her own fault. "Can't concentrate? Too quiet?"

"Huh?" James stuttered, looking incredibly embarrassed, which Tifa gave a smirk to. "Uh, not really. I was uh, enjoying the view?" he clamped his mouth shut, his face growing even redder.

Tifa looked at him curiously, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Maybe the library wasn't the best place for a guy like James to be studying in. He had probably needed a noisier place, with more people, like the cafeteria or something. Sensing James obvious discomfort, she tried to ease him with another smile. Which seemed to work, she added thoughtfully to herself.

"Err, uh…" Should he ask her out? Was this the right time? Or maybe after the finals? James tried to quell the inner turmoil, which was like a tornado sweeping up more thoughts and growing bigger and bigger, making him lose control. "I-" 

"Hey guys!" a voice rang out in the uneasy silence, and James turned around to see the spiky headed teen standing at the back of Tifa's seat. "Knew I could find you here," he knelt down, chin on Tifa's shoulder as he looked beyond her shoulder to see her notes written neatly across the pages.  "Oooh. Studying about the human anatomy?" he tilted his head and blew into Tifa's ear playfully, causing her to giggle and jerk away from him.

James' smile was forced as he looked at the two's antics. Looking at his watch with an exaggerated gasp, he told both of them, "Look at the time! I'd better be going. Got a meeting to hold. See ya guys." He stood up; pushing back his chair, and gathered his notes and books into his lean and lightly muscled arms.

"Wait! I'm coming with you, remember?" Tifa told him, and gave him a slightly disappointed look.

"Huh? Where're ya'll going?" Cloud asked.

"We've got practice today, Cloud. Go hang out with Aeris. I'll be back around dinner time," Tifa told him, following James out of the library.

Cloud shook his head and gave a mock sigh. He knew about James liking Tifa too, and he did not really approve of them being together. Tifa needed somebody more mature, and strong enough to take care of her. James was too boyish, and he looked too much like the playboy sort, maybe because of his features, which gave him a playful but dead handsome look. He knew of girls that had literally chased him to the ends of the earth, choosing to leave their family in Midgar, where they came from, to follow James all the way to Kalm University. Cloud gnawed on his lower lip, his thoughts returning immediately to Aeris. Both of them meant everything to him, and he could tell that Aeris liked him as more than just a friend, somewhat, but…

"Ugh." He spat, mussing up his hair. He'll just go with the flow and see what happens.

***


	4. chap4

Chapter 4 

"Hey Aeris! Fancy meeting you here!" Aeris turned, looking at James and Tifa as they jogged lightly towards her. Giving both of them a broad friendly grin, she nodded, and gestured at her lab coat.

"I'm bringing this to the laundry. Need to wash 'em," she told them, and gave a helpless shrug. "What are you guys doing here?"

Tifa spoke. "We had just came down from the library; thinking of heading down to the wall. Having a meeting before that, of course. Oh yeah. Cloud's up at the library too. I think he was looking for you," she smiled awkwardly.

James looked at Tifa as if she had grown another head on her shoulder. "Huh? I thought he was looking for y-"

Before he could utter another syllable, Tifa yanked on his arm with surprising strength, and pulled him towards the exit. "We're in a hurry! See you later, Aeris!" she waved and hurried on, pulling James who was looking back at Aeris nonplussed.

Aeris laughed, and waved back. Cloud was looking for her? She had better hurry up to the library to see what he was up to. Speaking, or rather thinking of the devil, her cell phone rang. "Hello," she answered sweetly.

"Hey! I was looking for ya. Where're you?" Cloud asked from the other line, sounding like his baritone self, and Aeris' mood lightened considerably.

"Um. Just come down and you'll find me. I'm by the lockers," she walked down towards the flight of steps where Tifa and James had come down. "Yeah. Tifa told me that they saw you up in the library. Looking for me?" she added coyly.

A laugh could be heard from the other side. "I guess so," he told her, as he appeared at the top of the stairs. "Hey!" he called out. "There you are." He switched his phone off and proceeded down the remaining steps to meet Aeris. 

Aeris stood by the bottom of steps, grinning widely. "So, what are you going to do now?" she asked, both of them walking down towards the entrance of the medical faculty. "Oh yeah. My lab coat. I gotta head down to the laundry before I can do anything else," she stuck out her tongue.

"Ok. I'll accompany you there then. Uh, maybe later we could head down to the wall? It's been a long time since I've conquered it." Cloud grinned.

"Conquer?" she snickered, punching Cloud lightly in the arm. "You think you're climbing Mt. Everest or something?" she shook her head, still laughing.

"With my imagination, anything is possible!" Cloud announced with a flourish, causing Aeris to giggle even harder.

"Oh, come on. Let's hurry if we want to join Tifa and James," she told him as they grabbed her bike and his T-board. "I'll race ya! Loser'll treat everyone to dinner later!" she shouted as she sped off on her bike.

"Hey!" Cloud yelled indignantly, hopping on to his board and chased after her rapidly diminishing figure.

***

"Would you mind explaining what happened just now?" James eyed her guardedly, trying to sense her mood. He wouldn't want to offend her; oh lord, no.

"Hmm?" she looked at him as if in a trance. Her face was pale and drawn. James looked at her worriedly as she stumbled into his arms. "I'm not feeling too well…" she mumbled against his chest.

"Oh my god. Are you ok?" James tried to soothe her with comforting words as he brought her towards the nearest bench, under the shade of an old pine tree. (A/N: omg. Does pine even offer the _slightest _shade? Lol!) 

Glancing around in panic, he was about to go for help when Tifa took hold of his hand in a gentle grasp. "Wait," she gasped. "I'm fine. Just need my shot." She told him, fumbling in her sling bag for her pouch. She unzipped the pouch as James looked on in wonder. Taking out her needle, and the bottle of serum, she thrust the two objects at him, uttering, "5 ml please."

James did as he was told, and being a top notch medical student, he smoothly drew the exact amount of liquid, flicked the syringe and squeezed it lightly to get rid of air bubbles, before asking her where she usually shot herself. "Arm?"

Tifa nodded, as another wave of dizziness shook her. Her head lolled to the side, her eyelids drooped close as the serum was injected in her intravenously.

James took a step back, and threw the needle into the nearest bin. He then sat down beside her as she recovered slowly. "You feeling ok now?" he asked her softly, taking a piece of tissue and brushing it across her brow, which was dotted with crystalline beads of perspiration.

Regaining her balance and orientation, she sat up straight, back leaning against the support of the bench, and smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah. Thanks for your help. I must have forgotten to take my dose just now," she gave him a toothy smile, showing all her pearly whites in an attempt to mask her embarrassment. 

Knowing Tifa too well, he frowned at her, telling her not to worry about giving him too much trouble. She gave a tentative nod, not looking at him in the eye. Not wanting to probe into her privacy, he stood up, giving Tifa a hand. "I'll bring you back to the dorms." He sighed in finality. 

"No. I'm going for the meeting today, as I said I would," she replied stubbornly, her hands placed firmly on her hips, glaring at James. "I'm even gonna climb the damn wall. See if you can stop me," she huffed, walking away from him.

James graced her with an appreciative glance, one of awe and acquiescence. "If you say so," he whispered, too soft for Tifa to hear, and fell in step with her, as they took his board to the wall together.

As they stepped down the board and headed for the wall, a group of first year students were standing there already, waiting impatiently for them. Upon nearing the grounds, Tifa saw Greg, and her jaw dropped to her chest.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked him, irritation written all over the place. Greg was _the_ most annoying guy in campus, and all the girls knew it. He played tricks on every single one of them in his classes, like throwing water bombs, or playing childish pranks like writing love letters. "So? Are you going to answer me or not? I'm the secretary here, and I take care of the attendance, as well as membership. You have to go through me before you can join this club," she ended smugly, flipping her hair with a finger.

"Huh? James…" he looked at him pleadingly, bright green eyes shining with hope.

"She _is_ in charge here, I guess," he grinned at Greg, shaking his head in mock resignation, as if the world was about to end. "Sorry bud." He sighed, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well, I am really, _really_ interested in rock climbing, and I've been climbing since I was 6! Serious!" Greg replied lamely, his eyes downcast. 

Amongst the group of students, a girl could be heard snorting loudly. Tifa glanced in that direction to see Jean, their star climber, rolling her eyes, checking her nails in a bored manner. Greg was looking more and more defeated by the minute. Feeling sorry for that little asshole, she granted him membership to the club. "Ok Greg, you're in. I guess I was just playing around with you." She smiled as his face lit up like the full moon. "But." She warned, wagging her finger, "You are not allowed to play any, and I mean _any_ tricks on _any_ of the members here, or you're out; out like a snuffed out candle flame. Got it?" 

"Yes ma'am!" he gave a mock salute, face still in his brilliant boyishly cute smile. Greg was already dressed up in his gear, Tifa noticed, a tank top and track shorts, which most of the other climbers donned. 

Dismissing the group to James after taking attendance, she went to the changing rooms. Changing into her usual gray running top baring her midriff and black tights, she stepped out of the rooms to see Cloud and Aeris heading towards her, lost in their conversation.

"Not fair!" Cloud was saying, crossing his arms across his chest, wearing a childish frown on his face.

"Uh-uh. Don't bother arguing with me, Cloud. It was fair _and_ square. You lost to me, so you're gonna buy everyone dinner! So there!" Aeris stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"No I'm not. Not if I can help it." He grinned and started tickling her sides. Squealing, Aeris tried to sidestep his advances but he was faster, tickling her all the way to the changing room. Cloud stopped abruptly as he noticed Tifa standing at the door of the rooms, looking at them wistfully. "Oh. Uh. Hi, Tif," he started. "I-"

"Hey Tif!" Aeris butted in, grinning inanely, her face flushed, tendrils of wavy brown hair hanging prettily down the sides of her face. "We decided to rock climb with you guys. Can we?"

Tifa was shaken out of her trance. "Oh. Yeah. Of course. We'll be doing some warm up around the university first, though. Like some running." She grinned.

Cloud looked at her apprehensively. "You sure you're fit enough to run? I mean, you're sick and all…" he drifted off, wondering if he had somehow offended her.

Tifa tried to keep her cool, and nodded. "Of course I am fit enough. I've been training for some time now. My illness doesn't affect my fitness, just health. You know, I'll just get sick easily, that's all."  She said tersely. She brushed past the two of them and headed towards the group.

"Oh man. I did it again," he lamented.

"Don't worry about it. Tifa's not the type to hold grudges, you know that," she told him comfortingly, placing a warm hand on his shoulders. He shrugged it off; shoulders slumped, and headed into the boy's changing room. "I'll see you in 5." He told her before disappearing into the room.

***

"Ok guys! Listen up!" James hollered, and clapped his hands, trying to get everyone's undivided attention. "We're gonna start off by running around the university as a little warm up. I think it's about 5 kilometers, should be easy enough. Follow me."

The rest of them filed into twos, and started jogging after James and Tifa, who were in the lead. Every now and then, James would glance at Tifa, to see if she was keeping up. Tifa would give him a peeved look, and purposely look away, jogging further ahead.

Cloud and Aeris followed behind, jogging effortlessly, enjoying the cool afternoon breeze. The pair in the middle however, was not doing as well. Greg, who partnered up with Jean, was trying to irritate the hell out of her. He constantly pulled at her hair and joked at its volume and length. Jean, for her part, tried her best to ignore him but his comments got louder and louder until she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Shut the hell up, ok?" she growled, moving towards the back of the line, but kicking him in the shins before she left.

"Hey!" Greg howled, not so much in pain, but more in disappointment.

They passed most of the faculty buildings as people who were milling about looked at them with little interest, as if running in winter was the most common thing in the world.

Having completed one entire round, they slumped down on the grass in front of the wall, wiping their perspiration with a towel, and gulping water from their bottles. Pulling on her windbreaker, Tifa walked to the water cooler, having finished the water in her bottle, and helping James fill his as well. 

Cloud was there, drinking hungrily from the cooler. She smiled, thinking that he looked like he was ready to eat the whole thing up. She went up to the cooler beside him, waiting patiently as clear cool liquid flowed into her Nike bottle, humming to herself.

On hearing her rich alto voice, he looked up, and smiled. "You free later? Me and Aeris were thinking of going out for dinner tonight," 

"You and Aeris?" Tifa repeated, her spirits falling a little.

Cloud smiled encouragingly, "So you're coming right? I'll pick you up at 7 later."

"Tifa! Cloud!" Aeris called out from behind them. Tifa turned around to see an empty bottle flying into her face. Striking her hand out in reflex, she caught the bottle a hair's breath from her nose. "Thanks!" she waved, running back to the wall.

Cloud was impressed. "Nice reflex. Thought she'll get you in the nose for that one," he chuckled, taking the bottle from her and filling it. "I'll fill this one, you fill James'," he told her, voice hiding a little… jealousy?

Tifa tried analyzing his facial expression, but it was carefully blank, devoid of any emotion. She sighed, and continued filling James' bottle. She knew she shouldn't, couldn't, mustn't, but yet… she could not control her heart. Aeris had told her, in one of their girl talks, that she was secretly in love with Cloud. What was a best friend to do but to let her have him? She sighed again. She would harden her heart. She would take this as just another challenge that she'll overcome. It was no big deal, really. 'Then why am I feeling this ache?' she asked herself, and found that she couldn't give a simple answer.

"Tif? You ok?" Cloud's voice came drifting into her ears. "You're spacing out again. Been doing this a lot lately, huh."

"Of course I'm ok. I was just… thinking." Giving him a self-assuring look, they walked back to the wall together in silence.


	5. 5

Chapter 5 

They were sitting in a chic new trendy restaurant overlooking the outdoor pool of Takashimaya, their favourite hangout. Sitting in a booth that faced the window, Tifa looked at the scene of playing children having fun in the pool with a contented smile on her face. Leaning back with a sigh, she looked over at Aeris, who was busy sipping her lemon tea from a straw.

"What?" she looked up, feeling Tifa's gaze upon her.

"Nothing," the smile was still evident on her face.

"Stop that goofy grin," Aeris responded, her forehead crinkling.

"Getting paranoid, are we?" Tifa's smile widened.

Aeris was about to snap back with a reply when Cloud hushed the both of them. "Here comes our orders," he said, and grabbed his soupspoon, slurping his soup with relish.

"Oh yeah, where's James? I had thought you wanted to bring him here to have dinner with us," Aeris stabbed at her salad with a fork.

Cloud perked up suddenly at the mention of James and cast a sideway glance at Tifa, trying to seem disinterested, and kept spooning his soup.

Tifa's lips quirked, breaking into a crooked grin. "He's got other stuff to do and besides, isn't it _our_ night out together?"

Wiping the corners of his lips with a serviette, he left the spoon in the bowl, and spoke. "Yeah. We hardly do anything together anymore. What happened to the three musketeers, man?"

Aeris giggled. They had done a lot of mischief back in their good old high school days. "Remember the time we were having tissue paper fights in the girls bathroom? Cloud had snuck in trying to plant god knows what in the girls changing room," she shook her head at the memory.

"And we belted him with wet toilet paper… some got stuck on the ceiling and dried up there like cement! It won't come off," Tifa finished.

"Whatever. It's not like I was trying to place a camera or do anything perverted," Cloud interjected.

"Then what were you trying to do?" Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cloud stuttered. "Uh…"

Thankfully, the waiter came again with their main courses. Wiping his brow, Cloud gave a sigh of relief, and took his spaghetti from the waiter, giving him a megawatt smile. The waiter looked back at him uncomfortably, and smiled tentatively.

Catching the look of the waiter as he scurried back to the kitchen, Aeris nearly fell to the floor in laughter. "Oh my god! Did you see that? I think that the waiter thought you were coming onto him!" she paused, trying to catch her breath.

Tifa grinned, and reached over to pinch Cloud's cheek. "Can't help it can he? He's just such a pretty boy,"

Cloud eyed them, more than a little annoyed. "Can we just eat and stop talking?"

***

After dinner, they had a walk around town, doing some shopping and hitting the arcade to play pool.

It was 11 when they had reached the dorms, and Tifa slumped tiredly against her door, trying to stuff the key into the hole. She stumbled clumsily into her room, and threw the bags of clothes and toys she had bought onto her bed. Sitting in her chair, she looked into the mirror, watching as the brown-eyed girl of her reflection stared back at her. An appointment card peeking out of the drawer caught her eye, and she took it, remembering her scheduled appointment with her doctor the next day at 10 am.

Her forehead creased slightly. _Don't I have classes then? Should I still go for the appointment or not?_

Not willing to dwell on such a small matter, she quickly pinched out her disposable contacts, threw them in the toilet bowl, brushed her teeth and collapsed on her bed.

***

Tifa's Nokia 7210 rang to the tune of the Chocobo theme, as she drowsily fumbled around for her phone. "Hello?" she mumbled.

"Tifa! Where are you? We're at the cafeteria having breakfast. You're having a lecture with us remember? Philosophy." A male voice came through the other line, and Tifa immediately recognized it as James.

"We? Who're we?"

"Oh. Cloud and me."

_Since when did they eat together?_ Was the only though Tifa had as she dragged herself out of the comfortable sheets she had buried herself in. She stepped into her bathroom, still on the phone with James.

"Hello?"

"Oh yeah. I'm still here. I'll be there in twenty, ok?" Tifa said, ending the conversation. She rushed through her morning routine, her hair still damp from the shower she had taken and ran out with her notes and bag, in a tube top and jeans. A bottle of serum lay on her dressing table, untouched.

Running down the traffic junction, she flagged down the bus, which operated on the internal transport system of the university, and hopped on, choosing a seat at the back.

"Hey Tifa,"

Looking at the speaker, it was Jean, with her hair in a high ponytail and wearing a green tank top. "Hi," Tifa replied, moving to sit beside her. Seeing her somber expression, she asked what was wrong.

"Nah, I was thinking of moving into the dorms," Jean spoke, looking out of the window, the wind blowing in from the slits of the windows whipping loose strands of fine red tinted hair away from Jean's face.

"Oh. I thought you lived quite near the university? So why the sudden decision to move?" Tifa asked.

"Family problems," she smiled wistfully. Looking at Tifa pleadingly, she asked, "Um… you mind if I moved in with you?"

"Me?" _Do you really want the responsibility?_

"Yeah, I know you live in a two persons dorm, by yourself…"

"I… I've got some problems," Tifa murmured, looking down. _You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Jean._

Jean looked desperate. She caught hold of Tifa's hands, and literally begged to stay with her, and offered to pay double the rent. "The rest of the dorms are reserved for foreign students," she explained.

_What am I supposed to say?_ "Ok then, Jean. Hey. This is my stop. I'll talk to you later ok? Or just message me," she grinned encouragingly, "Don't worry, you'll get through this," Tifa gave her a thumbs up, and got down the bus hurriedly.

***

"What? You're going to let Jean move in with you?" Cloud asked ridiculously.

"How many times do I have to repeat that? And where's Aeris?" Tifa asked absently, stirring the cup of coffee in front of her with a plastic mixer.

"She's asking the professor something," James responded, eating his ham and cheese sandwich. "Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, I'm sure." _I'm feeling sick._ She blanched.

Cloud touched Tifa's hand. "Are you ok? You look a little pale. Have you taken your, um, you know?" he gesticulated.

James looked up, half biting into his sandwich. "What are you guys talking about? And Tifa, why the hell are you so pale?" he put down his food to look at her more closely. Grabbing her wrists and taking her pulse, he frowned. "She's ok. Probably low glucose in her blood." Picking up his sandwich again, he nudged Tifa's mouth open. "C'mon, eat something," he urged.

Tifa complied, her jaw opening and taking a bite out of his bread. She chewed slowly, but it doesn't seem to be working. "Uh… I just remembered. I forgot my shot yesterday and today." She stuck her tongue out.

Cloud looked ready to faint. "Not again?! You're a walking time bomb, you know that?" he looked over at James. "Wait a while, I'll drop by her dorm and grab her medication." With that, he was tearing off to the entrance of the cafeteria.

James looked at Tifa curiously, and demanded to know what was going on. "What the hell was he saying?"

"I'm sick, ok?" Tifa answered. _Thick…_

"What? How?"

_Will you stop blubbering already? I can't think…_ Tifa shrugged, then looked apologetic. "I'm not feeling very well now, I'll explain later ok?" her head lolled to the side, and James gently brought her to rest against his chest.

"There, there. You'll be fine. Just hang on; Cloud'll be here any moment. Just hang on," he stroked Tifa's hair comfortingly, making soothing noises.

_Why…_ "Why are you being so nice to me?" she mumbled, almost incoherent, but James caught what she was saying and stiffened a little. "I don't deserve it. I don't want anyone's pity…" she trailed off, tears leaking out of her eyes. _Am I just a stupid attention seeker? Isn't this what I want? Somebody to care for me? Then why the hell am I feeling this bad?_ "I DON'T WANT THIS!" she shouted suddenly, pushing away from the comfort of James hug. She stood up unsteadily, knocking over the chair that she was sitting on.

Tifa turned away, her head spinning as she clutched it. _I can't breathe. Need to get out of here. Now. Now. NOW!_ She banged her way out of the cafeteria, stumbling over chairs and tables that were in her way, flinging them away in frustration.

"Tifa! Where're you going?" she heard James shouting at her helplessly. She didn't blame him. She was probably acting like a raving lunatic now, but she didn't care. One more moment in that place and she would just puke her guts out.

James, being the kind of person that he was, wasn't about to give up on Tifa that easily. In a few quick strides, he was by her side, holding her up as she exited the cafeteria rather ungracefully, and obscenities spilling out of her mouth like a raging river with a broken dam.

"If I hadn't known any better, I'd say you were possessed." He muttered, and brought Tifa under the shade of a rather huge tree. "Feeling better?"

_No. Why did you follow me here?_ Instead of that coming out from her mouth, a mix of gastric juices and sandwich gushed out of her mouth, landing on the soft grass she was standing on. James wiped her mouth with a piece of tissue from his pocket, before she could with the back of her hand. She sank to her knees, taking deep breaths.

Cloud came running towards the pair who seemed to be examining something on the ground before them. Coming to a halt, Cloud had already got the needle in his hand, and motioned for Tifa to give him her arm. 

"I can do it myself," she argued half heartedly as her arm was grabbed forcefully from her.

Looking down at the vomit, James' eyes widened considerably. "Isn't that blood? In the vomit I mean," he pointed at the gunk.

Tifa's eyes rolled in the direction of her puke. "Oh. So it is," _What's it doing there?_

"Huh? I don't recall your doc ever saying that you would spit blood, Tif," Cloud said.

Tifa began to laugh. Cloud and James looked at her worriedly. She laughed harder. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She pointed at her own vomit, and laughed some more. "Bl-Blood," she sputtered, clutching at her sides as she laughed. 

"What's so funny?" James asked Cloud, the expression clear on his face. He was looking at Tifa strangely, very sure that she has gone mad.

Cloud shrugged, and stared at Tifa. _Has she really lost it?_

Just as they were about to ask her if she was all right, her hearty laugh gave way to wrenching sobs. She sat there, with the two boys looking at her at a loss on what to do. 

***

"Hello, Aeris speaking," she said cheerfully, walking out from one of the tutorial rooms of the Medical faculty.

"Aeris! Come quick! We've got a problem here," came Cloud's voice from the other end, momentarily dampening her mood.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Don't ask, just come quick,"

"Where are you?"

"Oh right. Um," there was a pause as someone else could be heard in the background. "Yeah. We're at the cafeteria outside med fac,"

_Isn't that just outside?_ Ending the call, she walked briskly out of the building, looking around for a blond with spiky hair. Spotting him, James and Tifa, she ran over, kneeling beside them on the velvety grass.

"What the hell are you doing here? Having a picnic?" she asked incredulously, before looking at the reddish tinged foul smelling gunk in front of her. "Mind filling me on the details?"

James told her what had happened, and she took a sneak peek at Tifa, who was still in hysterics. "Oh man, James. Did it ever occur to you that she might be in shock?" Aeris sighed, and turned to Tifa. "C'mon girl, let's bring you to the infirmary." 

That being said, the two guys hauled Tifa to her feet, and carefully transported her to the infirmary, a few blocks away via Cloud's T-board, and their own transport.

Sitting by the front of the reception desk, they waited for their turn after giving Tifa's name to the kind and pretty nurse in duty. Smiling his thanks, Cloud went back to Tifa, who was staring blankly at the floor, sobs having subsided a while ago.

James and Aeris had to go for a physiology lecture, so it left the two of them there in awkward silence. He shuffled his feet taking a good look at the infirmary, which was more like a mini clinic. There were posters about different diseases, along with the doctor's certificates from blah and blah university, and whatever courses he had graduated from. Taking another quick look at Tifa, who was in the same position ever since she sat down, he bit his lip, and went to the cooler by the side of the room.

Holding the paper cup that was filled to the brim precariously, he brought it down to Tifa, who did not seem to have noticed the cup in front of her face. He waved a hand in front of her eyes, but that didn't seem to register either. "Tif. Tifa," he shook her a little. No reply.

"Tifa Lockheart. You may see the doctor now," the nurse called.

"C'mon. Let's go in." Cloud told her gently, taking a gulp from the cup and trashing it. He held her by the elbow and pulled her up, steadying her before dragging her into the doctor's room.

"Please. Take a seat," Dr Stephen gestured, and waited for them to get settled before continuing. "Ah, yes. I've been given the files related to Ms Lockheart's condition, and it has come to my knowledge that her genetic illness is rather unstable. In layman terms, her genes keep mutating causing different effects every time it undergoes a change. And this time round, having examined a sample of her blood, we've found that the change of the coding of the chromosomal strand has created a protein, or rather, an enzyme that inhibits the production of serotonin, one of the neurotransmitters and affects her mood, sleep and daily routine," he paused, taking a sip from his cup.

"Okay…" Cloud started, not quite sure how to respond to that. "So she's suffering from mood swings?"

"Yes. That's the effect of the lack of serotonin in the blood, and so I shall be prescribing her some. Don't bother giving her daily injections; she won't need them anymore, her condition having changed. I'm not quite sure when the gene would start mutating again, it is really hard to say. To keep track of her condition, we might have to take blood samples from her every week," Dr Stephan told him.

"So why's she like that now?" Cloud asked, not satisfied with his answer.

"That would be mild shock. Don't worry, I'll give her a jab, and you could just bring her back to the dorms to rest. She'll be fine in a while," Dr Stephen proceeded in giving Tifa her jab. "There you go. Please wait outside for her medication,"

"Ok. Thanks," Cloud said, bringing Tifa out of the room.

Like a magical doll coming to life, Tifa stirred slowly, first looking up at Cloud, then at her surroundings. "Where…"

"Don't worry. We're still in campus. This is the infirmary. C'mon, I'll tell you as we're walking out," he steered her towards the entrance after collecting her tablets.

As they walked down the streets, she looked at her prescription in wonder. "What are these? Serotonin?" she read the label.

"Uh, yeah." Cloud said, mind elsewhere. They were taking the route back to her dorms on foot, as it was near evening and it was really windy, thanks to the season. "Seems like your condition has changed," he said, still eyeing her to see what her reaction would be like to this piece of news.

"Changed?" Tifa asked nonplussed.

"Right. Changed. Something about your DNA changing and mutating and now you're down with the lack of serotonin." He grinned weakly, not too sure how to phrase it. "I think you can get a report on your condition from the nurse one of these days. They're still researching on your cells,"

"Ok…" Tifa drifted off, and they walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way back to the dorms.

"Thanks for walking me here," Tifa mumbled, keeping her head low. She was standing outside her dorm room, which was located in a relactively new building designed like a condominium commonly found in New Midgar, a busy city that never sleeps. She stayed on the 11th storey, and was about to insert the key into the lock when she noticed someone sitting at the corner of the corridor, snoozing with her luggage around her.

Noting Tifa's curious expression, Cloud looked toward the direction she was facing, to see a red headed girl sitting crouched with her head on her arms, which hugged her knees. "Isn't that…"

"Jean!" she took quick hurried steps to her fellow climber and stooped down to wake her up. Jean stirred slowly, lifting her head to greet her with a drowsy smile. "What are you doing here?" Tifa asked in bewilderment.

"I couldn't get you through the phone, it was switched off or something," Jean said, rubbing her eyes and waking a little more each minute. "Oh my god, what's the time now?" she asked, her eyes suddenly alert and frozen in panic.

"It's about 6. Why?"

"Shit! I have to tutor a primary school kid! Gotta run! Help me bring this back into your dorm please? I'll explain later," she bit her lip, clasping her hands in front of her and making pleading gestures.

Tifa nodded wearily. Jean gave her a quick jug and a kiss to the cheek before running off down the stairs, not even bothering to wait for the elevator that was just a few steps away from her dorm room. Bringing her hands to her head, she looked down at the baggage helplessly, and felt the urge to just sit down and bawl her heart out. But she knew she couldn't. She couldn't break down now, not ever. And _especially_ not with Cloud watching.

Cloud clutched her shoulder, and Tifa responded by turning around and giving him a brave smile. "You didn't tell me she's staying with you?" he accused, a slightly hurt look marring his beautiful features.

Tifa shrugged, and opened the door to her dorm. She took hold of the handles on the bags, and dragged them into her rather spacious room with Cloud's help. Dusting her hands on her jeans, she said, "It was kinda a last minute thing," shrugging again, she grabbed a glass at on the dressing table and filled it with tap water from the sink in the bathroom. Taking a long drink from the now half full glass, she sat down on the bed, and patted the space beside her, indicating for Cloud to sit with her.

Cloud brushed a chunk of blond hair from his eyes, and watched her intently, waiting for her to explain. She did, taking a deep breath, and began. "Well, I met her on the bus today, and she looked pretty worn out. I asked her what was wrong, and she said that she was having problems with her family and has nowhere to go; so she asked me if I could let her stay with me since I was living in a two people dorm. I couldn't say no, but I didn't say yes, either. I told her to call me and I'll talk about it with her… now she's just… suddenly here." She stopped, and looked at her shoes. "I have to let her stay. She's desperate."

Cloud reached out for her hand and squeezed it tightly. "If you ever need anything. You know where I'll be," he took out his cell phone and waved it. Tifa smiled gently at him, and her gaze fell to his lips, still in a cute smirk. She looked up into his eyes again, surprised to see him looking right back at her. Before her thoughts could get awry, a knock on the door could be heard.

Tifa got up from her bed and went to the door to find Aeris standing at the doorframe, holding a pizza box and a bottle of soda. "Look at what I've got here!" she chirped. Tifa grinned back at her, her position momentarily blocking Cloud from view. Moving into the room, Aeris' eyebrow shot up, obviously, she didn't know that Cloud was here all along. "Oh, hey." She smiled a little awkwardly. "I was just about to give you a call to get you down here,"

Cloud shrugged, looking a little guilty. Aeris glanced at the two of them suspiciously, and a hint of realization hit her face. "Don't tell me you guys are-"

Tifa shook her head vigorously. "Nonono. It's not like that. I just got back from the doc's." she explained, twisting her hands nervously. "Don't ever think that, Aeris. We're best buds, and always will be, right Cloud?" 

Cloud was distracted. He glanced up at Tifa, who was looking at him with questioning look. He looked at her eyes, then her hair, then her lips, and back to her eyes again. "Yeah. Sure," he replied, feeling a little more than confused. Sobering a little, he finally noticed Aeris standing there with a funny look. "Aeris!" he blurted, causing both girls to look up at him in alarm. "Uh. I guess I'm just hungry," he added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ok, well, I am too, I guess," Aeris said, smiling. She set the box down on the parquet flooring, and went over to switch on the television, which was situated on the opposite wall with two single beds. She channel surfed before finding a channel with Spongebob cartoon on, and watched while she gulped the soda offered to her by Tifa. "Thanks," she murmured, taking a sip from the cup.

Tifa handed the box of pizza to Cloud, who took it from her gratefully, and chomped on the slice with great enthusiasm. She grinned at him, who grinned back, a certain sort of understanding crossed between the two in that smile.

***


End file.
